Telegram could be banned all over the European Union

[Redaktion]

Pointing out the undeniable fact that it is being used extensively by extremist groups, Germany aims to shut down Telegram across the country, and even across the entire European Union. In addition to death threats against officials, Telegram is employed by anti-vaxxers in their campaign against COVID-19 shots.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Telegram-could-be-banned-all-over-the-European-Union.592620.0.html

[MrDone]

Where is all the police to deal with "extremist groups". Why those loafers dont use telegram to catch extremists?

Censorship is the worst thing to happen to EU!

[Ramboid]

Never support censorship of any kind! I'm with the author on this one.

[Corsair]

As a European myself, I am strongly against any form of nanny state (and EU is becoming one) or anything that limits freedom of speech/ideas.

I don't see why a platform must be punished. If the content in question is of criminal nature, then seek the one who created it.

I miss the good old internet days. Nowadays I do feel the need for having a VPN bypassing restrictions or exercising my right to express my ideas without getting punished by  thought police.

[Reheim]

No to censorship. The list of what can be considered is only going to grow bigger once we remove more and more dissent. The witches list just keeps on growing bigger. I spent two decades living under a totalitarian state and I can smell that direction of movement. The reason why censorship starts "benign" is because that's the slippery slope they initiate people onto. Before long, these paradigms have their citizens distrusting each other and killing each other.

Also, since when is anti-vax an extremist movement? Since COVID? Because that's an entirely different topic due to how COVID vaccines function compared to other vaccines.

[Codrut Nistor]

Where is all the police to deal with "extremist groups". Why those loafers dont use telegram to catch extremists?

Censorship is the worst thing to happen to EU!

The author here. Funny story about extremist groups/illegal stuff on Telegram and the police. I was on a Romanian generalist group, 18+. No hardcore adult content, maybe some dirty jokes here and there, guys trying to pick off ladies in the main chat, various services being advertised, mostly legal or nearly legal stuff. Guys asking for drugs or offering usually get the boot from admins in a matter of minutes (weed is illegal in Romania). One evening, a guy comes talking about weed and rambles about not giving a flying fudge about the police. "Policemen are too stupid to use Telegram, it's the Wild West here, freeedom, who can give me the number of a weed supplier or maybe at least some pictures of underage girls?" To which a non-admin guy who was patiently and politely asking this dude to cut talking about illegal nonsense replies: "Did you at least check my profile pic?" He had a picture of a dude in police uniform...
Of course that anyone can lie regarding their identity on Telegram, but I've seen that guy involved in other conversations and if he's not a cop, at least he acts like one who is there to gather information and, if possible, make some stupid people realize that Telegram is not exactly the Wild West and asking for or offering illegal stuff can have consequences.

I know, the story wasn't exactly about extremists. Although sometimes I get labeled as one, I never looked for such groups and when I end up in what seems to be a general group that's crawling with lunatics I get out as soon as possible. As a side note, in Romania you end up being labeled as an extremist if you don't tolerate corruption and the involvement of the church in politics... and if you don't swallow those who claim that communism was better, again. "Extremist" and other labels. It's not like I wish death to those people who cry about the good old days. I only wish for them to go to North Korea and stay there for at least a year to get a good taste of what Romania might have been now... 

[Codrut Nistor]

No to censorship. The list of what can be considered is only going to grow bigger once we remove more and more dissent. The witches list just keeps on growing bigger. I spent two decades living under a totalitarian state and I can smell that direction of movement. The reason why censorship starts "benign" is because that's the slippery slope they initiate people onto. Before long, these paradigms have their citizens distrusting each other and killing each other.

Also, since when is anti-vax an extremist movement? Since COVID? Because that's an entirely different topic due to how COVID vaccines function compared to other vaccines.

Anti-vaxxers are not extremists. I got vaccinated, I will probably not do it again anytime soon and focus on improving my general health and boosting my immunity using natural methods, but I try not to be on the pro or anti side here. I'm with science. The big problem with pro/anti vax is that we need arguments. Solid figures, solid science. In the last two decades, most European governments have lost one essential asset that makes a country strong - TRUST. I've seen how polls have been evolving here in the last decades, I've seen the general opinion being shifted in other countries as well. Europe seems to be headed towards anarchy and the rate keeps accelerating. At least this is how I see it.

[LL]

Oh, so European Union will forbid Marxist groups and the Communist Manifesto? a primitive ideology without checks and balances, without separation of powers ,hat murdered 100 million of people due to power being Totally in the State?

[Codrut Nistor]

Oh, so European Union will forbid Marxist groups and the Communist Manifesto? a primitive ideology without checks and balances, without separation of powers ,hat murdered 100 million of people due to power being Totally in the State?

Don't you think that the EU should focus on EDUCATING the masses to understand what is really wrong with communism or nazism and never wish they return instead of forbidding people to talk about that? Doing a very basic and loose analogy, we could say it's just like telling kids not to eat candies. The emergence of extremist groups can be easily spotted taking place exactly in countries where most of the population is struggling to make ends meet, but also in countries where migrants were welcomed with open arms and often turned out to become a problem.

P.S. The problem with censorship and labeling people is that, for example, if someone tells me that I am a moron, it's basically all right. I might sue and ask for damages, but the society as a whole won't see a problem in this. If I happen to belong to some minority of any nature (not trying to poke the hornets' nest, so I am not naming any), then it is very likely that it all becomes a very serious problem and that someone automatically gets labeled as an extremist.     

[MrDone]

Fun thing is censorship is a must for any communism or nazism state. So is EU moving to anarchy? Hardly. More like fascism.

[Codrut Nistor]

Yes, I agree, but communist and nazi countries were somehow organized. At least they gave the appearance of being organized. And, obviously, swept a lot of problems under the rug. The thing is that, now, at least in Romania, the state/administration is corrupted to the core and flooded with incompetent people who have absolutely no clue about what they should be doing. It's enough to see the joke that has been Romania in the ongoing pandemic, speaking of measures taken and how they actually work. Short story below...
As a parent, I signed that I agree to have my kid tested for Covid at school. No problem with that, I consider it (somehow) normal. It would be perfectly normal if things would actually work properly. Many parents REFUSED to sign because... testing would lead to chip implantation, selling one's soul to the Dark One, and ridiculous stuff like that (no joke, seriously, there are a lot of people who believe those silly 6-6-6-chip stories now, in 2022!). Good, but after a while, I find out that the tests MUST BE PERFORMED AT HOME. By me/the other parent/the kid. Well, not so good, because the chance for fake positive/inconcludent results increases.
Buuut... the Romanian state organizes a bid to find a company to provide the tests. Who wins it? A company that is led by a pimp. No joke. The dude was CONDEMNED as a pimp/human trafficker/more. He associated himself with a fashion designer who happens to have been condemned for money laundering. No big deal, right? How can any sane human trust such a government???
Bottomline - they give only TWO tests to kids each week. Next week they repeat the operation. When school started, there weren't tests to give to the kids in the first week.

Oh, final thing about the tests - before the winter holiday, there were 76 positives reported all over the country the last day tests were conducted. Those parents had to do PCR tests on their own expense, and only 4 (FOUR!!!) out of 76 turned out to be positives. The statistically natural conclusion is that those tests are nothing else but state-backed money laundering.

Unfortunately, countries far less pathetic than Romania will probably hit fascism, as you say...

[kek]

Coming from Germany, it seems old habits never die.

Politics are more worried about their public image than about doing what's right.
See, in what world does closing down Telegram helps against ""extremist groupds""? They will just change platforms and that's it.

On the other hand, I dont see anyone of them worried about all the inmigrants they are taking in, and do note, some of them might be more of a worry than an antivaxxer in Telegram.

[Opponent12]

I like how anti-vaxxers got roped in with pedophiles and drug dealers.  What is wrong with you people lol

[Johannes Hamish]

Remember in the 90s when everyone made fun of the US for trying to ban the export of encryption (or applied mathematics)? Seems they had nothing to fear, other countries will ban it themselves.

And they'll keep banning every encrypted communication network as "extremists" etc will simply migrate to the next free, encrypted communication network.

[Barebooh]

I like how anti-vaxxers got roped in with pedophiles and drug dealers.  What is wrong with you people lol

More like, pedos and drug dealers against anti-vaxxers.